NBA Free Agency Rumors: Houston Rockets Looking To Fill 15-Man Roster, Considering Signing Free Agents K.J. McDaniels, Jason Terry, And Chuck Hayes, Among Others

The Houston Rockets have busy hitting the open market lately. The Rockets have 14 players under contract after signing guard Marcus Thornton to a minimum contract.

The Rockets have a qualifying offer out to restricted free agent K.J. McDaniels. Houston does have interest in bringing the athletic small forward back but can take its time in deciding what to do. The New Orleans Pelicans are also reportedly interested in McDaniels, according to Bleacher Report.

ESPN’s Calvin Watkins tweeted early this evening that Houston plans on using their $5.4 million mid-level exception on McDaniels, who is currently back at Clemson working towards his degree.

Rockets want to use $5.4 mil MLE on KJ McDaniels are in talks with him. McDaniels has a strong offer from 1 other team. No offer sheet yet.

— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) July 16, 2015

Even if Houston signs McDaniels, the Rockets do have plenty of flexibility as backup point guard Pablo Prigioni’s and reserve power forward/center Kostas Papanikolaou’s contracts are not fully guaranteed.

Houston has also re-signed point guard Patrick Beverley and guard/forward Corey Brewer this offseason. But the Rockets are still in need of a backup point guard and backup center, which is why the Rockets are still looking at adding another veteran or two.

As things stand right now, Prigioni is the backup behind Beverley, and he is 38-years-old. Also, Prigioni is not able to play extended minutes due to his lack of quickness and liability as a defender.

Prigioni appeared in 67 games last year, averaging 4.3 points and 2.6 assists a game. He shot 39.9 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from the three-point line. Priogini, however, was much more effective for Houston. He averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 assist in 24 games for the Rockets while shooting 34.3 percent from the field along with 27.5 percent from the three-point line. With Houston, Priogini recorded a 118 offensive rating, but his PER was just 11.4, which is well the average rating of 15.

Real GM’s Shams Charania reported a few days ago that the Rockets were nearing a deal with Jason Terry.

Free agent guard Jason Terry is progressing toward a deal to re-sign with the Houston Rockets, league sources tell RealGM.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2015

Terry is not the prototypical point guard, but as a backup he is very serviceable. The 37-year old has been a scorer much of his career, as evidenced by his career averages of 14.2 points along with 4.2 assists. He averaged 7.0 points and 1.8 assists in 77 games for Houston last year.

Andre Miller is also believed to be an option for the Rockets. Miller, 39, averaged 4.4 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor last year in Sacramento. He won’t be returning to the Kings after all the moves they have made this offseason.

Miller isn’t the player he once was. However, he finds open shooters, is still a potent weapon in the post, and is very savvy.

The Rockets were hoping that Josh Smith would return to the team, but he is Los Angeles-bound after signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Clippers. He will also receive $1.5 million from the Detroit Pistons as part of his buyout agreement.

Watson tweeted that Houston offered Smith the non-Bird exception, which would have paid him roughly $2.5 million next season.

The Rockets offered Josh Smith the non-bird exception of roughly $2.5 million for the 2015-16 season.

— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) July 16, 2015

In a statement, Smith thanked the Rockets for making Houston “a second home.”

“Over my pro career, I have spent a lot of time in Houston with friends and family. Over the past year, while with the Rockets, the team, fans and people of Houston have made it a second home. I want to express my appreciation to everyone for the support and kindness they have showed me and my family while I have been here. Thank you!”

The Rockets are a little crowded up with Clint Capela and Joey Dorsey behind Dwight Howard on the depth chart. They have Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones currently atop of the depth chart at power forward, although Dekker, as well as Papanikolaou, can also play there. But there are concerns whether Capella, the team’s first-round selection is 2014, is ready for the NBA.

Capela, 20, only appeared in 12 games for the Rockets last year. He averaged 2.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 7.0 minutes of action. He was solid defensively but recorded only 40.7 percent true shooting percentage. Capela missed the entire Las Vegas summer league due to a knee injury.

If the Rockets do add another interior player, Papinkalou or Dorsey are most likely to be sacrificed.

One name that is being thrown around as a possibility for Houston is Chuck Hayes. Hayes and Rockets coach Kevin McHale talked on Monday in Las Vegas, and the Houston Chronicle is reporting that there is “mutual interest” in having the veteran return to the team.

Hayes, 32, was with the Rockets from 2005-11. He appeared in just 29 games for the Toronto Raptors in 2014-15, seeing 8.8 minutes of action. He averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in his limited action.

Another possibility for the Rockets frontcourt is second round draft pick Montrezl Harrell. Harrell, out of the University of Louisville, is a hard worker with a high motor. He is an outstanding rebounder who has improved offensively.

Harrell had a great week in Las Vegas, averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.

[Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images]